Carly Hayward – Editor

I am a developmental editor specializing in genre-fiction, including but not limited to romance, sci-fi, fantasy, and cross-genre. I will be your book’s best friend.

I have worked in the publishing industry for 15+ years, including at a major publishing house, a literary agency, a small press, and an indie publishing house. I am also a co-host on a writing advice podcast.

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"I can’t rave about Carly enough! She performed a quick, yet thorough, read-through of my novel and created six pages of talking points. Then we skyped so I fully understood her points and recommendations. Together, we crafted a battle strategy for revisions—it was so efficient that the actual edits only took a week! And looking at the old draft versus the new one… wow. Her edits added a whole new dimension to my story, without sacrificing my original vision for the novel."

-Rebecca Thorne, author of This Gilded Abyss and Can't Spell Treason Without Tea

"With Carly's guidance, I turned my pretty okay novel into something so much more, something alive. I always felt she loved my characters as much as I did--she simply got what I was trying to do, and helped me do it. I have no doubt that my book (and hopefully many to come) are vastly improved by her involvement."

-Kim Alexander, International Bestselling Author

"Carly is wonderful to work with. She goes above and beyond to make a manuscript shine. And let me tell you– my manuscripts were such hunks of coal until she got her hands on them. Carly is able to see things I never would have been able to and yet she understood my vision perfectly. She was able to brainstorm with me some creative ways to tweak (or in one case, overhaul) the plot points both big and small with such ease that it was truly amazing. At every turn, Carly is there to give advice, think out of the box, and deliver her ideas with such warmth and kindness that it never feels daunting."

-Wren Jones, author of Damsels and Dinosaurs

"I had such a wonderful experience working with Carly—so fabulous that I worked with her twice—on two different manuscripts, both I adored and knew were close but not quite right. She was able to see my vision and pinpoint exactly what was falling flat, what needed more development, what needed more consistency, and what needed more balance.

Better yet, she explained each of the issues in a clear way that made sense and inspired me to make changes in a smart way, to expand some threads and cut others and dig deeper into certain characters. Her notes were so thorough and helpful and well organized and well thought-out, that I was super excited to edit—those are the best sort of notes.

Carly is super professional, prompt, organized, concise, and so smart! I learned so much working with her, all of which has carried me through to later projects."

-Felicia Grossman, Author of Appetites & Vices